Paper cup



Aug. 29, 1944. c. BARBIERI PAPER CUP Filed June 12, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 29, 1944. c. BARBIERI PAPER CUP Filed June 12, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ITF'EZ 2 E1 Aug. 29, 1944.

c. IBARBIERI PAPER GUP- Filed June 12, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 F n E v. n

' (219 925 B/YEBIEEL.

Patented Aug. 29, 1944 PAPER CUP Cesare Barbieri, New York, N. Y., assignor to Dixie Cup Company, a corporation of Delaware,

Application June 12, 1942, Serial No. 446,698 7 Claims. (01; 229-) This invention relates to improvements in paper drinking cups, highly desirable for use in a suitable holder in drug, confectionery and similar stores for the dispensing of individual soft drinks, sodas, etc., although the invention may I have other uses and purposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the dispensing of ice cream sodas and sim ilar confections in paper cups, it is customary to withdraw a paper cup from a dispenser, place it in a suitable'holder, then put the desired soft drink'or confection in the cup, and serve it to the customer. Most frequently such holders are provided with handles to permit elevation of the cup to the mouth by way of th holder, in the event straws are not used. In most instances, it is desirable to temporarily lock the paper cup in th holder, so that if the customer picks up the holder and cup and drinks from the cup, the cup will not tend'to slip out of the holder and fall in the customers lap or at least spill some of its contents over the customers Wearing apparel. Such a temporary locking medium is particularly desirable where the cup is of the conical type because such a cup flares so Widely at the top as to be substantially topheavy if not anchored to the holder in some manner. In most instances, patient painstaking effort on the part of an operator has been necessary to properly lock the cup'in the holder against accidental falling out, and in most instances it was necessary, at least most frequently happened, for the operator to contact the cup, and frequently adjacent, cups, with his naked hand. Quite often, the naked hand or a finger or two of the operator was inserted inside the paper cup in order to twist, skew, or otherwise position the cup in the holder so that the locking means would take effect. Any cup that requires a specific adjustment of the cup relatively to the holder in order to temporarily lock the cup in position is objectionable as time-wasting, and any cup that not only requires but is so difilcult to handle that it may cause the operator to contact it inside with his naked hand, is highly objectionable as unsanitary.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of this invention to provide a paper drinking cup equipped with locking means which automatically assume a locking position inconjunction with a holder, merely upon the pressing of the cup within the holder or the pressing of the holder over the 7 cup, no adjustment of one relative to the otheron the part f the oper ator being necessary in order to establish a sufficient locking engagement. 7

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a paper cup having locking means embodied therein of such a character as to'properly engage with a holder merely upon the placing of the cup in the holder, even in a most careless manner, no relative positioning of the cup and holder being necessary, and no point of circumferential registry'between the cup and the holder being necessary, merely a movement of the cup relatively to the holder orthe holder relatively to'the cup is quite sufficient to secure the locking means in association with the holder.

In accordance with this invention, the construction of. the cup carrying locking means thereon is such thatthe cup may be merely tossed bottom end first into the holder and an automatic engagement between the cup and holder sufficient to prevent accidental dislodgment of the cup results;

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a conical paper cup having a looking tab projecting from the body'or side Wall of the cup in'a manner such that it will pass a shoulder in a holder and spring out in the manner of a barb beneath that shoulder, thus preventing accidental removement through the top end of the holder.

Still another object of th invention resides in the provision of a paper cup having a locking tab projecting outwardly from the body of the cup, which locking tab is an extra piece added to the blank or 'blanks going tomake up the cup and which may be attached inside anouter layer of the cup, between overlapping portions of thecup, or may be attached solely to the external surface of the cup, and which is soadapted as to normally project from the cup sufficiently to engage beneath a shoulder in a holder automatically. I

A still further object of this invention results in the provision of a paper; cup provided with a locking tab extending outwardly from the body of the cup, and which tab is especially constructed to automatically and freely project from the body of the cup regardless of how compactly tthe cup'may have been nested with other cups prior to its individual separation for use.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a paper cup equipped with a locking tab automatically engageable with a holder, and which locking tab is made from different stock material than the cup itself.

Still a further feature of the invention resides able material. the locking tab or tabs may be of slightly heavier in the provision of a paper cup equipped with a plurality of automatically operable locking tabs extending from the body of the cup in spaced relationship for automatic engagement with a holder.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a part sectional, part elevational view of a paper cup embodying improvements of this invention, showing the cup in position within a holder;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a step in the construction of a locking tab for attachment to a cup;

Figure 3 is an inside face view of the locking tab itself;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the severance of blanks from a strip of stock, and indicating diagrammatically the attachment of a locking tab to a severed blank;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the cup of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially as indicated by the line VIVI of Figure 1, illustrating the locking engagement of the cup with the holder;

Figure '7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the same character of Figure 6, but illustrating a cup having a slightly different form of locking tab;

Figure 8 is an inside face view of the locking tab of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a side elevational view of a cup equipped with a locking tab of a still different construction and application;

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the engagement of the cup. of Figure 9 with a holder;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary central vertical sectional view illustrating the engagement of a cup equipped with a plurality of locking tabs positioned within a holder; and,

Figure 12 is a bottom plan view of the cup of Figure 11. I

As shown on the drawings:

In each of the several embodiments, the instant invention is shown in the form of a conical paper cup, and its association in all of the embodiments is with the same type of holder. Also, in each instance the cup itself is made of any suitable material, such as paper of the character commonly used in making paper drinking cups, preferably a paper of the so-called dry wax type, wherein the paper is impregnated with a wax to render it waterproof, but the wax is not discernible on the surface of the paperfwhich is left entirely clean. In addition, in each embodiment of this invention, the locking tab or tabs, to be later described, may be made of wax impregnated -Dal er, or of paper commonly referred to as raw stock, which has no wax content, celluloid or resin coated paper, a light plastic, or any other suit- Preferably, but not necessarily,

stock than the cup itself and, for the purpose of clarity, I have illustrated each tab as being of. a heavier or thicker stock than is embodied in the construction of the cup with which the tab is associated. It will be understood, however, that thetab may be made of the same stock as the cup, or of a stock of equal thickness with adjacent blanks.

' in Figure 4, and comprises a substantially sectorshaped piece of stock embodying an arcuate mouth defining edge 3, a side edge 4 which ini-' tially was the side edge of a strip or web W of stock from which the blank was cut, another converging'side edge 5, and a rounded apex tab or projection 6. The converging side edge 5 is arced and notched inwardly as indicated at 1 just above the tab 6 to assist in the forming of the cup by presenting only the outer portion of this edge to the grippers embodied in the forming means. The blank is rolled into the shape of cup '1 by any suitable forming means, such as a pair of conical dies, by rolling the blank from the edge 5 toward the edge 4 and winding the projection 6 about the apexial portion of the cup. Thus, the cup is convolutely wound to its ultimate conical shape, and either during or after the winding the very apex or point of the cup may be blunted as indicated at 8 in Figure 1, if so desired. 4

Prior to the winding operation, a locking tab may be attached to the cup blank, or during the winding operation the locking tab may be inserted within the convolutions or folds of the cup. As seen in Figure 4, this locking tab may be mounted on the inner side wall of the promotion 6 on the blank, so that the outer portion of this tab will overlie the locking tab 9 in the completed cup, as seen clearly in Figures 1 and 5. The locking tab is illustrated by itself in Figure 3 and comprises merely a cut-off portion of a narrow ribbon of stock, preferably heavier than that of the cup itself, as stated above, and to one portion of which an adhesive coating I0 is applied. The portion II] is that portion inside of the cup convolution defined by the pro ection 6 vide a safety factor for the retention of the locking tab, it may be desirable to apply the adhesive '0 directly to the locking tab and thus insure its absolute adhesion in position on the cup.

With reference again to Figure 4, 'it will be noted that the blanks 2 are out very closely together from the stock strip or web 5 so that only a minimum portion of stock H is waste between This waste is far less than in the case where locking tabs are formed integral with the blank from which the cup is made. In

most instances, the difference between the waste entailed by cutting successive blanks with integral locking tabs, and by cutting blanks as illustrated in Figure 4 with separate locking tabs, will result in an ultimate saving as high as seven percent of paper stock. Such saving, in the c mmercial manufacture of paper cups, is a very considerable item, because the costof the paper itself is 'one of the major expenses of production, and while the saving from the cutting of two adjacent blanks may be a mere trifle, that saving multipliediby the manufacture of billions of paper cups 'is 'a considerable factor;

In Figure 2 I have illustrated"diagrammatically a step in the. manufacture of the; locking tab 9. This tab is cut from a ribbon or web. 9aof stock which preferably is passed between a Plain surface wheel 12- and a wheel 'l3having a serrated surface so that the Web 9a is transversely knurled on one side as indicated at M as'iti is fed by the rolls or wheels I2 and Hi. This knurling on one face of the resultant locking tab 9 accomplishes two' difierent results. First, it creates a definite set or permanent curvature in the tab 9.5011121; when placed in position on the cup the tab will assume an outward curvature away from the body of the cup in its free portion as seen clearly in Figure 6. Second, the horizontal-or transverseknurling prevents the glue H) from spreading along the length of the tab when pressure is applied during'the formation of'the blank into a cup, and thus insures that the exposed'or outer portion of the locking tab is free of glue and will have no tendency to stick to the body of the cup when the cup is compressed in tight nested relationship with other cups during packing and shipping.

In order to show the operation of'the cup when actually in service, I' have illustrated the cup in association with a' holder l5. This holder is of substantially hour-glass shape including a base portion l6, a handle I1, and an inside bore IS in keeping with the taper of the side wall of the cup for which the holder is designed. Insidethe holder is a freely projecting portion 19 through which the bore l8 continues, but it will be noted that this freely projecting portion is spaced away from the outer wall of the holder as indicated at 20 so that the under edge of the portion 19 provides a definiteshoulder 2 i When the cup I is placed in the holder, the locking tab 9 flexes as thelower portion of the'cup passes through the part E9 of th holder, and immediately on passing beneath the shoulder 21, the upper portionofthe tab 9 assumes its outward position and extends beneath the shoulder so as to effectively prevent accidental dislodgement of the cup from the holder during use. [Any tendency of the cup to slip out of the holder will cause'the upper portion of the locking tab 9 to look more firmly against the shoulder'Zl.

The knurling on the inner face of the locking tab also augments its locking engagement with the shoulder 2! upon a tendency of'the cup to slip out of the holder. If, for some reason, the cup tends to make a forceful exit'from the holder, the upper portion of the locking tab 9 may extend outwardly beyond the entire shoulder 2|, and the engage ment of the cup with the holder is thereby'made still'more firm. When it is desired to remove the cup from the holder after usage, it is a simple expedient to jerk the cup out of the holder, notwithstanding whatever destruction to thetab or to a portion of the cup mayo'ccur, because the cup is destroyed after a single usage.

The placing of the cup in the holder may be done in a most'carel'essmanner and the action of the tab 9 is automatic. 'No attention need be given to the relative position of the cup as it enters the holder. The axis of the cup need not be aligned with the axis of the holder because if the apex of the cup strikes the side wall of the holder, the cup will turn and cam itself into proper position. No attention need be given to any circumferential registry between the cup and the holder, there being no' ase line to coincide for a proper attachment. The cup may be placed other convolution.

in the holder by hand, it may be tossed through the air so that it .falls into the holder, or the holder'may be pushed over the lowermost cup in a stack of cups held by'a dispenser, and a downward movement of the holder will automatically dispense the lowermost cupfrom the stack. In that event, only the handle of the holder need be contacted byv the hand of the operator. In any of these events, or substantially regardless of how the cup enters the holder, the latching or looking tab 9 functions automatically to secure the cup within the holder against accidental displacement,

In Figures 7 and 8 I have illustrated a form of the invention which differs from the previously described form only in that the locking tab 22 is of plain stock, without the knurling. The holder is the same, and the cup is the same as above described. The tab 22. is made of plainstock, however, and may, if so desired, be provided with an adhesive portion 23- in that region of the tabwhich underlies the projection or convolution 6 of the cup. The tab functions in substantially the same manner as the locking tab 9 previously described, although'the tab 22 may not have quite the tendency to spring outwardly away from the body of the cup as the tab 9, and perhaps a little more care need be used in attaching the tab to the cup to prevent any spread of glue lengthwise of the tab that may hinder to some extent its outward springing tendency. However, lessglue may be used and, if so desired, a set or permanent curvature may be given the tab in some other means rather than knurling, such, for example, as a hot press prior to attachment to the'cup.

In Figures 9 and 10 I have shown the same character cup, and the same type of holder. However, in this form of the invention, a locking tab 24 is secured to the outer surface of the cup, 7

and is not overlapped bythe convolution 6 or any The tab 24 is preferably turned substantially at right angles to the position occupied by the previously discussed tabs 9 and=22. In this position, the tab 24 presents a greater edge area below the shoulder 2| of the holder so that there is greater contact with the shoulder upon a tendency of the cup to fall out of the holder. The tab 24 may be cemented along its lower margin to the outer wall of the cup as indicated at 25 in Figure 10. By positioning the tab adjacent the convolution of the cup so that the major portion of the tab projects abovethe convolution, the upper portion of the tab is automatically spaced away from the wall of the cup to some extent and will retain that spacing. Consequently, when the cup is placed in the holder by any of the means described above, or in any other manner, the tab will automatically assume an outwardly projecting position beneath the shoulder 2! of the holder and effectively anchor the cup within the holder against accidental dislodgement. Of course, in this instanc it is preferable to attach the tab to the cup after the cup has been formed.

It will be noted from the disclosure in Figures 9 and 10 that either of the previously described tabs 9 and 22 may also be attached to the outside wall of the cup after the cup hasbeen formed in the same manner as the tab 24 is attached thereto, if so desired. Likewise, if so desired, the tab 24 may be given a permanent outward curvature such as by the knurling operation shown in Figure 2, if so desired.

In Figures 11 and 12 I have illustrated the same I character of cup I, provided in this instance with a plurality of locking tabs. These tabs are designated 9b and 9c, and are shown as being of identical character. as the tab 9 above described. The tab 92) is shown as occupying a position beneath a part of the outermost and lowermost convolution 6 of the cup, while the tab 90, preferably substantially diametrically disposed, may be positioned beneath the next uppermost convolution, designated 26. The action of the tabs when the cup is placed in the holder is the same as above described, with the exception that there is a plurality of tabs to latch the cup beneath the shoulv der 2 I' of the holder.

It will, of course, be appreciated that the tabs 91) and 9c may be of the character of the above discussed tabs 22 and 24, if so desired, and associatedwith the cup in any of the above described manners. As previously stated, the tabs 9b and 90 may likewise be made of the same material as the cup itself, any weakening of the latching engagement of the tab by the use of a thinner material being offset by the number of locking tabs.

While I have elected to illustrate the'use of two tabs as indicative of the fact that a cup may carry a plurality of tabs, itwill of course be understood that any desired number may be associated with the cup. The use of more than one tab is quite desirable in connection with cups commonly termed hot cups; i. e., cups that are usually of a double thickness in the body portion so as to hold some such hot liquid as cofiee, and tend to maintain the temperature of the liquid. Such cups are obviously heavier and would have more tendency to fall out of a holder than a single thickness cup as illustrated.

My novel method of making a cup embodying principles of this invention is more fully described and claimed in my copending divisional application entitled Method of making cups, filed March 8, 1943, Serial No. 478,338.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a nove1 cup equipped with a latching tab for association with a holder. The function of the latching tab is entirely automatic, the cup need not be placed in the holder in any special manner, the cup need not be contacted at least inside by the hands of an operator when placed in a holder, and the entire structure is quite efiicient in operation, and economical both to manufacture and use. It is further apparent that, if so desired, a plurality of such latching tabs may be readily associated with a single cup and thus the latching effect is greatly aug-' mented. Further, my new and novel method of making a cup equipped with one or more latching tabs may be practiced with great facility, economy and rapidity.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles .of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. As an article of manufacture, a conical paper drinking cup made from a convolutely wound blank, and a latching tab partially disposed within a convolution of the cup with the projecting part of said tab springing outwardly from the body of the cup for automatic engagement with a cup holder, said tab being knurled on one side to give it a permanent arc to increase its tendency to stand away from the body of the cup.

2. As an article of manufacture, a conical paper drinking cup made from a'convolutely wound blank, and a latching tab partially disposed within a convolution of the cup with the projecting p rt of s id a sprin ing outwardly from the body of the cup for automatic engagement with a cup holder, said tab being knurled on one side to give it a permanent arc to increase its tendency to stand away from the body of the cup, and said tab carrying an adhesive on that portion of its inner surface behind the convolution to insure the securement of the tab to the cup.

3. As an article of manufacture, a conical paper cup made from a single blank of stock, and a latching tab comprising an additional piece of stock partially attached to the cup in such a manner that the free portion of the tab tends T to spring outwardly away from the body of the cup, said tab being defaced on one side to give it a permanent arc to insure the free part of the tab spacing itself from the cup body.

4. As an'article of manufacture, a paper cup, and a plurality of spaced apart initially separate latching tabs carried by said cup, each latching tab having a free portion tending to spring outwardly away from the body of the cup, said cup being convolutely wound, and said latching tabs each having a portion thereof anchored behind a convolution.

5. As an'article of manufacture, a paper cup, and a plurality of spaced apart initially separate latching tabs carried by said cup, each latching tab having a free portion tending to spring outwardly' away from the body of the cup, said cup having overlapping portions, and each said latching tab having a part thereof held between overlapping portions of the cup.

6. As an article of manufacture, a conical paper cup for insertion in a conformingly shaped holder provided with a shoulder, said cup comprising a single blank of stock having adhesively joined overlapped layers, and a locking tab formed of an initially separate piece of stock, said tab having an end anchored between said overlapped layers adjacent the lower end of said cup and a free end portion extending upwardly and springing outwardly after passing said shoulder during insertion of said cup in said holder to engage said shoulder and lock said cup in said holder.

'7. As an article of manufacture, a conical paper cup for insertion in a conformingly shaped holder provided with a shoulder, said cup comprising a single blank of stock, and a locking tab formed of an initially separate piece of stock, said tab having an end anchored to the outside of said cup adjacent the lower end thereof and a free end portionextending upwardly and springing outwardly after passing said shoulder during insertion of said cup in said holder to engage said shoulder and lock said cup in said holder.

CESARE BARBIERI. 

